Onderwêreld deur Fanie Viljoen | Project Nursery Rhyme | English Summary | Onderwereld

 

Onderwêreld deur Fanie Viljoen

Project Nursery Rhyme

Greg is shocked at the moving cursor on the screen. He hopes that Doc Pienaar did not see what he was doing onscreen, but he does not think that the Doc will know because of what was written on Eckhardt’s hacking blog. Greg watches Doc Pienaar’s activity with bated breath but is disappointed at how boring it is. Greg tries to gather his books and study, but it is difficult for him to get his mind off Doc Pienaar’s computer. He decides that he will wake up early in the morning to study. He watches as Doc browses News24 before going to Turret News Online. The frustration eats away at Greg as he waits for Doc Pienaar to finally do something. He eventually notices Doc closing all the programs before logging onto SSH.

Another knock on Greg’s door from TJ, who reminds him that they promised to meet at 8 pm. TJ drags Greg out of his room, telling him that whatever is on his laptop can wait. They play chess together in the flame-lit formal sitting room; however, when Greg finally returns to his room, Doc is gone.

Tuesday morning and still no sign of Eckhardt. Plank asks Greg if he thinks the police will find them and he merely points at the police officers lifting the lid covering one of the manholes leading to the network of pipes used in the initiation ritual. “Surely they don’t think he’s in there,” thinks Greg. The smell emanating from the exposed manhole makes Greg nauseous as it mixes with the crisp morning air. For the first time this year, Greg sees a frown on Plank’s face and knows exactly what he is thinking. If Eckhardt died down there, it is no way for anyone to go. Greg tries to remember if the manhole cover was on the day of Eckhardt’s disappearance. Greg’s mind runs a mile a minute as he considers the possibility that individuals who disliked the fact that he called off Eckhardt’s initiation might have organised a repeat incident. He begins suspecting Plank, reasoning that the frown on Plank’s face stems from the discomfort that comes from the police being on the right track. He wonders if Plank knows something.

Later in the morning, Greg is called to meet with Doc Pienaar, Mr. Andersen, Inspector Cele, Sergeant Botha, and Anita, who will be drawing an identikit of Eckhardt since no viable photos of him can be found. They are in a hurry as they need to get the identikit to the television programme “Police File” before the episode of the week airs. When Anita is finally finished constructing the identikit, Greg recognises Eckhardt’s face but notes that he looks particularly dead. He starts telling them about Eckhardt’s laptop but stops himself. They tell Greg that the laptop was a curious piece of evidence because there were no emails sent or received, no documents saved, nothing – as if someone erased everything. Inspector Cele asks Greg why that could be, and he retorts, saying that he is not the inspector in this scenario. The inspector asks him again why his number was the only one stored in Eckhardt’s phone, positioning it as a clue indicating that Greg had something to do with Eckhardt’s disappearance. They ask him about the night of the grade 8 initiation, explaining that the matrics told them about an incident that occurred between Greg and Eckhardt that night. They ask him why he stopped Eckhardt’s initiation. He tells the inspector that he changed his mind, and she responds that she does not believe him, adding that if he does not talk, she will draw her conclusions. Mr. Andersen puts a stop to the interrogation and Greg explains that he needs to get back to class because his father expects nine distinctions from him at the end of the year.

Greg calls his mother, but his father is the one who answers the telephone. Greg wonders what his father is doing at home, but his father explains that he has a trip to Cape Town and that he needed to get his luggage. His father repeats his nine- distinction expectation when Greg talks about his schoolwork, further asking about Greg’s position on the first team rugby squad. He lies, saying that he has practice later. He can tell that his father merely wanted to say hi and go, so he tells his father to send his regards to his mother before hanging up. He thinks about his strained relationship with Plank and TJ, who talk to him a lot less now. Kwanele is less on his case after picking up Greg’s slack in terms of leadership. It is what he always wanted. He lays on his bed, tired, falling asleep for a few hours before being woken up by the cold of dusk. He tries to study for the physical sciences test he has the next morning, but he cannot concentrate on schoolwork.

He starts looking through the files he downloaded from Doc Pienaar’s computer. He finds nothing interesting until he opens the emails, which require a password to be accessed. He attempts various simple passwords until eventually cracking it. “Lawson”. The email comes from a “The Baker”, and it seems like some kind of feedback report on something titled “Project Nursery Rhyme”. The email was directed to a “The Butcher”. He reads more emails, remembering that Eckhardt’s blog mentioned something about him hacking into the systems of a certain company and being found out. He skims more emails, finding some directed to a “The Candlestick Maker”. The aliases are references to a nursery rhyme:

Rub a dub dub,
Three men in a tub;
And who do you think they are? The butcher, the baker
The candlestick-maker;
Turn ‘em out, knaves all three!

The emails contain conversations about avian flu and viruses, which Greg must read twice to make complete sense of them. He skims over something regarding a haemorrhagic virus like Ebola. Greg wonders if this is Doc Pienaar’s plan – to unleash a deadly virus. The emails talk about no one being none the wiser about the virus being transmitted through flu vaccines. He realises that Eckhardt found out the who and what of the virus being cultivated. Greg wonders why Doc and his accomplices aim to do such a thing.

Greg goes to the Hang-Out and asks TJ for a moment to talk in the formal lounge. Greg adds wood to the fire before TJ asks him what is wrong. Greg asks TJ if there is something strange about the avian flu emerging in South Africa, but TJ knows only what is being reported in the media. He tells Greg about a vaccine being developed before asking Greg why all the questions. Greg lies at first, but after TJ pushes him, he convinces TJ to promise not to tell anyone about what he is about to say. He tells TJ that Eckhardt is a hacker and that he has reason to believe that Eckhardt infiltrated a system he should not have and disappeared to protect himself.

SummariesKeroshan PillayComment